October 2nd marked as national batik day in Indonesia. The day is celebrated since UNESCO declared batik as world heritage in October 2nd 2009. Batik is seen as intangible culture that has outstanding universal value. Hence, the preservation of batik tradition should be guaranteed not only for Indonesian but for the whole world. Let’s get to know more about batik
Terminologically there are various argument regarding the origin of the word batik. One thing for sure is that the suffix tik may be correlated with the word ‘nithik’ means making a dot. In batik, the application of dots to make pattern is common. The technique to make batik is by adding a melting wax onto fabric. The wax is poured by the canting, a dipper used to shape the motif,or the cap, a stamp with fixed motif on it. The dry wax shaped a motif blocking the color so the desired design formed.
Each region in Indonesia has their own characteristic batik motif. For example, there are parang and kawung motifs with intricate geometric pattern from Jogja-Solo, sidomukti motif from Solo and buketan motif from Pekalongan with elaborate design, sky-inspired motifs of mega mendung motif from Cirebon and trutum motif from Solo, and colorful sekar jagat motif from Jogja-Soloand tiga negeri motif from Lasem. Each motif has rich philosophical meaning such as life lesson and love hopefulness.
In the context of Javanese culture, batik is used as a jarik, lower garment wear both for male and female, or other traditional attire. In the modern fashion, batik also wore as a button up, shirt, and dress. Batik had been part of Javanese culture for centuries. In its recent development batik also developed in many other islands of Indonesia with their own unique motif representing the culture of each region.
As part of introducing this tradition to international student, INCULS provide batik course as one of the optional cultural activities. Expert in batik form Yogyakarta will guide the students in the batik making. Experience the process of making batik with your own custom motif as an appreciation of this intangible word heritage at INCULS.
